another bookmark

Hubby took the kidlets out tonight, so I had a few hours of uninterrupted bliss.... ahhh.

I've been wanting to case the bookmark on the cover of the new SU catalogue. I set out to use the same colours and to stay as close as possible to the original. But I just couldn't do it. :}


After I punched out the green middle part, I looked for something to put there. The little birdies were calling me, "tweet, tweet". Then the crown punch was lookin' at me. So I went for it. Hoping to find my clear teeny tiny rhinestones to bling it up.


Hubby came home and wanted a card, not a bookmark, so I made the card to go with it. I had fun using my sewing machine. i think I need to get a thicker thread.Oh yes, the white image on the background is from da Bella store. It's solid funky Bamboo. paper is Bella Rose from SU.



Well, that's it for tonight. I think I'll try this in another colour scheme tomorrow, maybe with a music theme.

thanks for looking,
Amanda

Sock Monkey and a cupcake

this was a fun card to make. It was done in interrupted stages, but fun none the less.



SU Sock Monkey set, Cuttlebug Music folder and swiss dots on the red stripe. Hardware from the dollar store.

Added a few balloons on the inside.


So, do you like? Don't know what happened to the 1st photo, It got chopped off when I cropped it, I'll take another one tomorrow when the light is good again.

I'm going to go through my retired stamp sets and put them here for sale. Hopefully, I'll be able to do it tonight, so stay tuned.

Thanks for looking,.
Amanda

new stamps and their pics

We finally made it home last night. Whew. 3 hour wait in the airport in Montreal wasn't as bad as I anticipated. thank goodness.

Here are three stamps I bought. The 1st one I talked about in the previous post.


The next 2 I bought at the same dollar store as the birdhouse image.
The label says it's "Anita's, Sugarloaf." I'll have to look it up later, the stamp was 2002.

the last is from the same place. can see this done with some embossing powder and bling, bling, bling.


I don't know when I'll get to play. My husband laid new flooring on the main floor while we were away and didn't quite get it done. We need to repaint, as he tore up the large baseboards that were glued and adhered with 3 inch screws. Quite a mess. I think I hear a soft sky or some other bluey colour. Now to convince the hubby. He designed the kitchen and bathroom rather nicely, so I'll have to agree with him.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

New stamp

We went to Lunenburg today on our way home from Shelburne. Lunenburg is a World Unesco Heritage Site and a lovely little town. I also knew there was a stamp store there, Paper Pleasures. We stopped by last year. This time, I had the kids and my dad waiting in the car, so I looked fast. lol
This is what I came out with

http://www.saltspring.com/oldisland/catalogue/Stamp%20pages/656%20Clapboard%20houses.htm
Clapboard Houses
Artist: Bert Small
The actual stamp image is 3 1/2"w X 2 1/4"h

I'll show the image when I stamp something with it, but I wanted to show it off. Hopefully I'll be able to colour it well.

We had a lovely time last night with my whole immediate family, except my brother. The kids were playing on the rocks by a shed, boats in the background and the sun shining brightly as it set. Photos were being snapped everywhere and my daughter became the little poser. Could I have arranged her better if I tried? Look at the placement of the hand. lol


We're flying back tomorrow with a 3 hour wait in the Montreal airport!!!! it is only a 2.5 hr plane ride total. Now we have to wait 3 hours in between. NUTS. Bad planning.
I can just imagine the joy I'll have with the loopy kids.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

sock monkey and the beach

I gave in and bought the sock monkey instead of the flower stamp. I have enough flowers, but no monkeys. Having a boy, thought it would be a good bday card image.
I paper pieced him. And limited supplies and brain, so it was a very simple layout for my dad's 65th bday!



We went across the street to the Commons (awesome grounds) and flew some kites. The wind was unpredictable, but we did get it up a few times. Here is my daughter flying it.


It was sooo hot here today. I wanted to go to the beach. It's not the one I remember going to 12 years ago, but it was popular. And it was cold! I was covered up in my towel. My son, the water rat, went in though. Hot in the parking lot, cold on the beach. Go figure. Reminded me of the beach in Portugal. No fun in the waves here either.

my sister, nephew and my kids.


Off to Shelbourne tomorrow to see daddy racing. Should be a good night with a pig roast and bonfire/ wiener roast. My whole family is coming down except my brother. Some fun times to be had.

Thanks for stopping by,
Amanda

Bird house

I did it! I watercoloured and it looks like a watercolour! I'm so excited. Watercolour paper and wetting it helped. Maybe I should explain... I've tried watercolouring so many times, different ways and even took a course. I know the image below is tiny, but it felt good and right when I was painting it. And I even left some white spots. Can't wait to try with a larger image when I get home.



I found this stamp at a dollar store that doesn't sound familiar to me. There is no name on the stamp, so I can't tell ya where it's from. Only 3 bucks though, so I went for it. This is a card for my cousin who was hopefully moving into her new house today. And maybe tomorrow, and the next day. Does it ever end?!!

I also made a card from my dad's bday with the sock monkey. I'll save it so I'll have something to show tomorrow.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

a purse and a boat

My preorder from the Stampin' Up! catalogue finally arrived yesterday. I had it sent to Halifax. Wouldn't ya know it, no mojo!
It's been a few weeks since I stamped. I have to get back into it. I tried the sock monkey with brown Martha Stewart glitter. I only had Zip Dry Glue, so it didn't work out too well.
I wanted to do this purse for my cousin, Treena's, Bday last week. Yeah, it wasn't flowing. I'm not in love with it, think I'll put a few curves in the next one. Anyhow, here it is:



I got a new ID stamp for the back of my cards. I got tired of using a marker on the SU copyright one when I didn't use SU products. This way, people have more info on how to contact me and see my wares. Warning: At 1st, I bought the one with the pretty script. The last line was illegible. So they kindly made a new one for me in the new font. Much better.


Took the kids to the harbourfront this morning. They have a lot of boat tours there, but the big draw is Theodore Tugboat.
There is a tv series on him, but I've only seen it on BBC kids. Anyhow, Rafael remembers it and we enjoyed looking at him. He is very expensive to ride and for over an hour, stuck on a boat, not my cup of tea. So mama cheaped out and bought a ticket on the Dartmouth ferry for 2 bucks and we rode over and back. lol Passed Theodore on the way and had a little wave.


What they do have that I would like to do, (just have to work a little more at convincing Rafael) is a boat/bus touring thing. For the moment, the name escapes me. It goes in the water and then drives on the street. Oh yes, it's called the Harbour Hopper.
It's 5 bucks more than Theodore, but it takes you around the water and the city also. Now THAT is cool.


Thanks for looking,
Amanda

Camping fun in Nova Scotia

We had a lovely few days camping with my siter's family in Annapolis Valley, NS. I lived in the valley for 5 years when I attended Acadia University. I so love the valley and would love to live there again some day.

The campground was awesome! So many things to do. We fed the ducks at the pond and went for a paddle boat ride after the wagon ride they have every night.

They have a jumping thingy called the slippery blister. The kids went nuts on it. A little dangerous if you ask me, but then again, I'm just a mother who's protective and gets sick on the swings. :} My son is the daredevil.

Another day, we went blueberry picking. Not the blueberry picking of my youth in Central Newfoundland. There, you had to squat down (almost sitting on the ground) and pick the berries off of short shrubs and gettin' eaten alive by the flies. Here, it is a berry farm. They are short trees! bigger than the kids and the berries are as big as grapes. Some good tell yer mudder!

A trip to the valley cannot be complete without a visit to my alma mater, Acadia Univerisity. Wolfville brings back good memories. The town and university have changed so much since I left in 1992. The last time I was there was 3-4 years ago, I think. I only have 1 aquaintance left in town to say hello to. He works in the library, so my son decided he wanted to count all the books in the library. Here is his start, with his siter helping him along.

We have a week in Halifax now, already visited the Commons and the awesome playground. Going to meet up with old friends in the week. Hoping to get to Michael's today to use my gift certificate. I think I hear Martha calling! lol

Maybe I'll get to play tonight???!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Amanda

grettings from afar

Hi there!

I'm checking in from Halifax, NS. An uneventful flight and drive to my parents place. There is much to do with a pool in the building, Halifax Commons across the street, Theodore Tugboat, and a camping trip with my sister's family.

I don't have any cards to show... yet. I got my new colours and the sock monkey set from Stampin' Up! being sent here, so I'll play and show ya what I can do with limited supplies. I will miss my beloved cuttlebug. lol

I'll probably be posting pictures of our adventures. Not as exciting as Portugal, but I'll try to make it interesting.

Thanks for stopping by,
Amanda

a scrap page! and a bday

Here is the scrap page I did last weekend for my sister in law's impending addition. The paper matches the decor in his room, so I went with the star theme again. It is made for 5x7 photo in black and white.


My baby turns 2 tomorrow, but we celebrated with friends today. We celebrate with her avo (grandfather) tomorrow.

I put on a little sing song at the party with my ukelele. I just got a nice big tenor one, so it was cool to play. I was slated to perform on stage at an outdoor event, just before Max and Ruby came out. But the rain started right on cue for my time slot! Let's hope it stays away tomorrow.
Here's Neve playing the maracas. She is so dirty. Too many strawberries and a flood of rain at the sailing club where we celebrated. What a mess, but much fun. Happy Birthday babe.


Thanks for looking,
Amanda

Pumped???

I don't think there is any danger of my father in law reading my blog and seeing his card, so you get to see it first.


He sells and fixes pumps for a living, so I wanted to take some pump pictures at the pioneer village we went to in Portugal. Knew they would come in handy. lol


DP is Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding and the screw snaps are form Making Memories. Nestabilities and Quickutz on the inside. The sentiments are from different sets form Papertrey. Not much stamping, but it is what I wanted.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

c'est fini

After making 42 of these.....(I forgot to take a picture of the final product)


I wanted to be a little simpler for 21 of these...
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Man, anyone else find it hard to make a card without using the cuttlebug? Even a simple card needs to be grinded through that machine. If I didn't put it thru the embossing folder, I would have wanted to use the nestabilites or Quickutz dies. Geesh. Tiny mosaic folder and heat embossing on the elephant circle which come from the set of all my other baby stuff. Wish I remembered the name before I threw the package out. Then I could call it was it is instead of that set I bought at Joann's. ANyone know it?

And now for something completely different, my son is a fish!

He has only been in a big pool 3 times this summer. With his water wings on, he is very confident. Now he's jumping in the pool by himeslf. SO much so, that I had to tell him to take a rest to catch his breath in between jumping. We're going to Nova Scotia next week for 2 weeks where there are 2 pools. SO I'm sure he'll be quite wrinkled by the time we get back.lol
Don'cha love summer and the things kids can do??

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

golf anyone??

I had a huge card making weekend with my sister in law. 42 elaborate birth announcement cards and 21 thank you cards and 1 simple scrapbook page layout. Whew!! But it was fun and gave an accomplished feeling.


This card was requested for a friend of theirs who is turning 40. He is also a golf player and I was excited to finally use my golf ball and tee Quickutz die that I've had for some time.
Paper is Stampin up, number is Cuttlekids, oval: nestabilities. Cuttlebug folders and a few eyelets. Voila.

I did get to go to a scrapbook store called Scrapbook Quebequois. Great stuff and great prices. I found only 1 french sentiment which was a little disappointing. It's a get well soon one.

Well, after being in the car for 8 hours for a 5 hour car trip, I'm ready to go to bed.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

Baby Announcement

Here is a mock up of the announcement cards I'm going to make. They will probably look different once we go to the scrapbook store and see what Dp they have and embellishments. I"m excited as we are in Laval, north of Montreal. Maybe I can treat myself to a french sentiment or 2. I do have some french customers.

you like? It's a card front, not a whole card. Paper: not Quite Navy and Barely banana. DP is SU, but that will change. Hoping for something with stars. Star punch is SU. Glassine bag is from Papertrey Ink, sentiment: Stamping Bella, tag: nestabilities. The white stars on the top is from an acrylic set from Joann's as are the silver star embellies on the tag.

here's the best part:
the pull out will have a picture on the front. inside will have 2 vellum announcements, one in English, one in french. On the back will be a magnet so people can put it on the fridge!!!! Ain't that just da bomb??

so, off to the store once my son and his tante get out of the pool. Think I;m going to have to be very patient !lol

Thanks for looking,
Amanda